Bethesda’s Fallout 76 AMA reveals more hope for the future

‘Different dogs’ and cats are coming

Fallout 76 is still happening, and it will be happening through at least the end of 2021. As a reminder Bethesda posted a road map, and there’s plenty of things on the horizon. The recent AMA reconfirms it.

So what’s new? Well, the development team explains that Expeditions are indeed “slipping” out of the roadmap for 2021, which soft confirms more work to be done in 2022: far longer than I ever expected this game to be supported. Expeditions are a new mechanic that allow players to “go outside of the current map,” and the team is “very committed” to making them.

Another big takeaway is that mod support is being talked about for private servers in the fall. A “hint” involves server setting options and toggles, but this is “just the beginning.” Unfortunately, it seems to be staying a “Fallout 1st” (subscription service) feature. New allies are coming too, as are new pets (different dogs at first, then cats, then they’ll “go from there”).

If you’re keen for more PVP elements, “Q3” will have additional concessions for it, as well as “hardcore survival elements” on the aforementioned private servers. The alien threat later this year is reconfirmed (the Zetans), as are more shelter styles, more ceiling wallpapers (though those are “farther out”), and expanded social features. For the latter, “guilds, clans, text chat, and mail systems” were all specifically asked about in the AMA, and the team says “we’re going to add new functionality.” So maybe a mixture of that?

Either way, the info about private servers is huge, and could potentially change the game. If mods are truly allowed, the community may have the ability to fix Bethesda’s sandbox for them. And it’s at that point, a few years removed from launch, some people might be interested finally.

Developer AMA [Bethesda.net]